AM Frequency of the week: 1420

[cyberdad]

Far northwest suburban Chicago....

Day: 1420 is normally blank, save for some minor to moderate splatter from WRMN (1410). Occasionally in winter, there'll be a whiff of WIMS from Michigan City, Indiana. Or less likely, WOC from Davenport, Iowa.

Night: Typical 21st century "regional channel" mess. WOC is most likely to be on top, but I'd describe it as "semi-regular" at best. From time to time, I've also heard Cleveland (WHK and the assortment of subsequent call letters), as well as KTOE from Mankato, MN.

Other locations: KTOE has a booming night signal via skywave in the Wisconsin northwoods.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs: At home this frequency is basically useless to me day & night as I am too close to the WEEF towers and the splatter is strong.
As I get farther away in my car I can hear WIMS during the day with a fair signal. At night WIMS disappears with a different pattern and what I hear is mostly a mess.
In the past I have heard WOC a few times.

 

[kf4rca]

Days, its local WWSZ out of Decatur GA. about 10 miles south from me. They run 1KW but is very weak to the north. At night, its a jumble.

 

[CADXER]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WIMS with weak signal
Nightime: nothing stands out. WOC or WHK most likely

DX/RETRO: Besides WOC and WHK managed to log WKPR (Kalamazoo, MI), WVJS (Owensboro, KY), WRCG (Columbus, GA), WFLT (Flint, MI), WHBN (Harrodsburg, KY), KTOE (Mankato, MN) and the Mexican XEEW.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Days:
WCOJ Coatesville PA is the semi-semi local present. They're religious-programming now. They have quite a signal. Back when they were a form of full-service MoR/AC they would show up more often than not in the Philadelphia ratings
-- ahead of a few Philly-licensed AM stations and no-shows.
One sunrise, WACK Herkimer NY was atop for a loggable while. Each had some unforgettable formats that escape my mempry at present.
Sunsets: Logged are WKCW Warrenton VA and WCED DuBois PA. (WKCW used to be quite the 5AM Monday morning sign-on bomb up in the JFK Airport DXing days; quite the pest)
Nighttime: The only logging is WHK (or how Cyberdad expressed it: 'whatever assortment of subsequent identities', hi) . WHK is the only one I have taped.

 

[FreddyE1977]

IN Pittsburgh I get WHK, Cleveland. Marginal by day and pretty decent at night.
Obviously much better now that KQV is temporarily dark.

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Daytime, Nothing really. Winter daytime skip events have caused WHK to make it here (we seem to have a pipeline to NE Ohio some winter days). Night-nothing comes to mind

 

[Mr Tony]

From the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant

Daytime and nightime....KTOE Mankato 5kw from about 20 miles away

 

[charlestondxman]

Daytime 1420 is WAOC St. Augustine, FL (sports). For a while it was a local TIS much like what 1390 was in Charleston, but they flipped back as sports makes more money. They actually have a decent little signal. They have 2kw daytime and can be heard as far up the coast as Myrtle Beach.

Nighttime is WHK usually (most often heard).

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WIMS with weak signal
Nightime: nothing stands out. WOC or WHK most likely

DX/RETRO: Besides WOC and WHK managed to log WKPR (Kalamazoo, MI), WVJS (Owensboro, KY), WRCG (Columbus, GA), WFLT (Flint, MI), WHBN (Harrodsburg, KY), KTOE (Mankato, MN) and the Mexican XEEW.

In the late 1960s, I heard an R & B format on 1420 right before sunset in NW Suburban Chicago. I thought it was WIMS, not sure if they had that format though. I had just heard WPON 1/0.5 U2 Pontiac, MI. I didn't know that the IDF of WAMM 0.5 D3 exceeded WPON, a little more than 30 miles away, Nondirectional 1 kW Day IF toward Chicago. I didn't know that WAMM/WFLT is probably the most likely station from Flint to be heard 15 minutes before sunset in that area. So I'm not surprised that CADXER has heard it. The 5000 watt Day stations were all Directional with quite low IDFs toward there, but I never heard them there, though I have seen them logged on this board and others. WKMF/WFNT 1470 was a frequent pre sunset DX log once you got just a little further North, perhaps before WMBD changed patterns.

 

[davideduardo]

DX/RETRO: Besides WOC and WHK managed to log WKPR (Kalamazoo, MI), WVJS (Owensboro, KY), WRCG (Columbus, GA), WFLT (Flint, MI), WHBN (Harrodsburg, KY), KTOE (Mankato, MN) and the Mexican XEEW.

From Cleveland, Monday mornings in the early 60's when WHK was off the air would bring Davenport and Mankato, and then if conditions were good, Stockton and Walla Walla. Occasionally Tijuana and Irapuato would appear if either was on after Mankato and WOC signed off. XEH, arguably Mexico's first continuously operating station would be heard but it was never a good signal.

Occasionally WEUC in Ponce, PR, would be heard before WHK returned to the air.

 

[schmave]

Around Columbus, not much of anything. WHK does not get here daytime, and it throws a null in our direction at night. The only time I've ever heard it at night, I was in western Ohio visiting family. That was in the early 90s. It was not all that strong a signal.